Wrthi'n llwytho
Y penderfyniadau fel y mae cofnodion y cyngor yn eu cofnodi. Bydd crynodeb mewn iaith glir yn dilyn pan fydd wedi'i ysgrifennu.
AGREED to note the report subject to a report on the actions to address to continue to improve attendance and it’s outcomes within the authority's schools would be presented at a future meeting.
AGREED to note the current position and the consultation process.
AGREED to note the content of the Forward Work Programme subject to the following amendments:- • An additional meeting to be in held in February 2025 to consider the responses received from the consultation upon the proposal papers in relation to Ysgol Craig yr Wylfa, Ysgol Llanfihangel y Creuddyn, Ysgol Llangwyryfon and Ysgol Syr John Rhys. The paper to also include information on the reason(s) that the two schools who were also earmarked originally to commence the consultation process had been withdrawn prior to the Cabinet meeting held on the 03 September 2024. • A presentation on capacity and empty spaces in schools • An invitation be sent to the Chief Executive of Mudiad Meithrin requesting her to attend a future meeting to provide Members with information on the organisation and any current or future challenges they encounter • That new Lockdown Policy for Schools be presented at the October/November meeting for consideration.
Councillor Elizabeth Evans and Mark Strong apologised for their inability to attend the meeting. Condolences were expressed to Councillor Mark Strong on the passing of his mother. The Chair also expressed his condolences to the family of the late Councillor Paul Hinge as a former chair of the Committee and his commitment to the education of the County.
Councillor Rhodri Davies declared a personal interest in item 7 on the agenda, Proposal papers in relation to Ysgol Craig yr Wylfa, Ysgol Llanfihangel y Creuddyn, Ysgol Llangwyryfon and Ysgol Syr John Rhys. Councillor Euros Davies, Marc Davies, Meirion Davies, Amanda Edwards, Chris James and Gareth Lloyd declared a personal interest in item 4 on the agenda Estyn Inspections, academic year 2023/24. Councillors Chris James, Gareth Lloyd and Caryl Roberts declared a personal interest in item 5 relating to the Childcare Sufficiency Assessment 2022 – 2027, Year 2 progress report.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
AGREED to note the report subject to a report on the actions to address to continue to improve attendance and it’s outcomes within the authority's schools would be presented at a future meeting.
The Cabinet Member for Schools, Lifelong Learning and Skills, Councillor Wyn Thomas highlighted the content of the Estyn Inspection Report for Ceredigion County Council. He stated that Estyn, his majesty's inspectorate for Education and Training in Wales, had awarded Ceredigion County Council a glowing report with regard to how well it delivers its Education Services.The report was published on 2 September 2024 following a comprehensive inspectionof the Council’s Education Service procedures and arrangements, including – • analysis of questionnaire responses, • preliminary interviews with relevant partners • analysis of various data such as learner outcomes and school performance, the quality and standard of support and support being provided to schools • close scrutiny of self-evaluation processes, strategic plans and arrangement for the safeguarding of learners. Currently in the report, the inspectors stated that the Local Authority places a clear emphasis on ensuring stable, high-quality educational provision for learners in Ceredigion over an extended period and that this was largely due to strong leadership; clear and intended strategies and ambitions; and close collaboration among authority officials, elected members, schools and other partners. It also noted that the authority had a strong track record of maintaining and improving their provision and delivering good outcomes for Ceredigion's children and young people. The report contains a number of strengths. Some of the highlights were below:- • Ceredigion County Council had a robust vision for its school improvement service. Officers work effectively to try to realise the vision of ensuring the best possible experiences for all children and young people in Ceredigion and there is a strong focus on developing learning, teaching and pupils’ standards of well-being. • The authority places a clear priority on developing leadership capacity within schools and the service to respond to national recruitment challenges. The strategy includes the professional learning programme, secondments and the activities of the school improvement team. • The authority’s arrangements in terms of developing the Welsh language were a significant strength, where several aspects of excellence could be seen among its provision and practices. There was a successful co-operation between officers from the culture department and the teams in the education department to support the Welsh language and Welshness. • The Welsh in Education Strategic Plan (WESP) was ambitious and clear in terms of the authority’s objectives to develop the Welsh language, and officers across the schools service and other departments of the authority were committed to realising the plan’s objectives and targets. • The authority supported its schools and settings to improve teaching and leadership effectively. The authority’s improvement advisers had a strong knowledge of their schools and data was used shrewdly to challenge and support schools. This was an extremely robust and purposeful feature. Over time, the outcomes of school inspections in Ceredigion were strong. • The local authority’s education services promote positive behaviour and good attendance in its schools and put valuable provision in place to encourage pupils to continue to engage with their education. • There was a robust vision and provision to meet the needs of pupils with additional learning needs. Being inclusive and providing a resource within pupils’ local communities is a commendable aspect of the authority’s mindset. There was a range of beneficial specialist services to support schools to meet pupils’ learning needs. Additional learning provision was provided fully bilingually, and this was a notable strength. The ALN team ensures that pupils’ individual needs were a priority in their work and robust co-operation across services ensures a cohesive and person-centred approach. It’s seen in the report, that Estyn had recognised that Ceredigion officers have a supportive, productive and positive working relationship with the authority's schools along with relevant organisations and partners.Estyn says authority staff work closely with schools to offer proactive and purposeful support where necessary, to support their pupils and promote positive behaviour effectively, as to offer a range of beneficial specialist services to support schools to meet pupils' learning needs, demonstrating our inclusive approach to education. There were a number of cameos/snapshots within the report that specifically highlight the innovative work being done across the Services e.g. how data was used to identify strengths and areas to be developed in pupils' performance as to inform analytical discussions, how the specialties of Welsh Language Support Team members and the culture department were used to support schools changing the medium of language, and how senior officials and elected members take pride in, and encourage, the contribution of Ceredigion children and young people as they plan on the authority's strategic direction in specific aspects, such as post-16education and the Welsh language strategic plan in education. The Council would act on the two areas of improvement identified by Estyn, namely to • continue to improve attendance within the authority's schools • further develop self-evaluation and improvement planning processes so that they focus on the impact services have on outcomes. The Cabinet Member thanked all Officers involved in the inspection, and stated that even though the report was excellent the service would however, face future challenges. The Chief Education Officer thanked the Cabinet Member for his comments and reiterated her thanks to all involved in the inspection to include also other services that were in addition to education such as Finance and ICT. She also thanked the Cabinet Member who had been mentioned in the report for his work and also to the Youth Council who had been mentioned to have high levels of understanding of current affairs that influence them within the authority and they voice their opinions and influence the authority’s work and ideas effectively. The Chair and all Members also congratulated the service on this excellent report. Following questions from the floor, it was AGREED to note the report subject to a report on the actions to address to continue to improve attendance and it’s outcomes within the authority's schools would be presented at a future meeting.
Following the resumption of Estyn inspections with pilot visits in February 2022, Estyn inspections had entered the final year of this cycle. School inspections had passed positively, and Ceredigion Local Authority were the only local authority in Wales without any follow up requirements, following inspections. The following schools were inspected in the academic year 2023/24: • Ysgol Cenarth • Ysgol Felinfach • Ysgol Llanfarian • Ysgol Rhos Helyg • Ysgol Talgarreg • Ysgol Syr John Rhys • Ysgol Gymunedol Tal-y-Bont • Ysgol Llannon The Cabinet Member for Schools, Lifelong Learning and Skills, Councillor Wyn Thomas summarised the content of each report and stated that the reports demonstrated the great work of all staff in these schools. The Chair and all Members thanked all schools for their excellent reports
The Cabinet Member for Schools, Lifelong Learning and Skills, Councillor Wyn Thomas reported that the number of registered childcare places had continued to decline during the last year, falling from 1,438 in March 2023 to 1,428 in March 2024 which mirrors the national trend. This was a drop of 10 registered childcare places in the last year, but a drop of 142 places since March 2021. The number of childcare places was reducing faster than the declining birth rate. Demand for existing childcare was high despite the declining birth rate since 2013 as 2021 and 2023 saw a slight increase in the birth rate. The following points are a summary of actions prioritised during the last year: i.) Roll out of Flying Start expansion – Childcare element of Flying Start only to 8 new Lower Super Output Areas from April 2023. 127 two-year-olds benefitted from Flying Start childcare in these areas. In addition to the 142 children in the existing Flying Start areas. ii.) Capital funding was secured for development of the childcare facility within the new Dyffryn Aeron school and work was underway (completion due Autumn 2024). A purpose-built childcare facility would be part of the school offering wrap-around childcare, after school and holiday care. iii.) Childcare and Early Years Small capital grants – =SUM(ABOVE) £299,476.06 funding awarded to 41 providers to improve the environment of the setting and /or replace equipment. iv.) New provision - Development work undertaken in identifying suitable premises for the development of a new sessional setting in Lampeter (new Flying Start area). v.) Business Support - Considerable resources and time invested in supporting a sessional/out of school setting facing sustainability issues. vi.) Pilot project - Initial discussions with Mudiad Meithrin regarding solutions to the administrative work burden on volunteer committees. vii.) New WG Training and Support Grant - Administration of the grant to develop and adopt a Training package to ensure providers were compliant with the new National Minimum Standard (NMS) changes by November 2024. viii.) Consultations - Responded to the Childcare and Play workforce registration, Estyn and CIW Joint Inspections and School Year consultations. ix.) WESP – ensured providers were aware of the consultation and the impact the WESP would have on sessional childcare settings. x.) Childcare Offer - Implemented the full roll out of the National Digital System for the four counties of Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Powys. xi.) Tax-free Childcare – Ceredigion was identified as one of five LAs in Wales to work with HMRC and Hempsall’s during 2023 to support an increase in take-up of Tax-Free Childcare. More promotional work was undertaken to raise awareness of the scheme. Recent data released shows a 2% increase in the take up of Tax-free Childcare in Ceredigion during 2023-2024. xii.) WG Working Groups – provide specialist advice and support to WG on issues around childcare including the Childminding Review Working Group and the Childcare and Play workforce registration. The progress report follows the seven themes identified in the CSA as the priority areas of work which include the themes listed below. It was noted that many of the concerns identified in the report were national concerns which are often out of our control. However, we continue to raise awareness of these with WG as highlighted in the report. It was reported that 2024 – 2025 would continue to bring challenges to the sector as a decision following WG consultation on the Childcare and Play Workforce Registration was awaited. It was important that Childcare Providers engage in the Childcare Offer hourly rate review which would have an impact on the future funding rate of the programme. Further national and local consultations expected in 2024-2025: • Welsh Government – Exceptions Order Review; and • PACEY Cymru – Childminders Providing Early Years Education • School Organisation - Ensure that the childcare provision which delivers the three-year-old education service is included in the Integrated Impact Assessment Following Cabinet’s final decision on the WESP in June the service would monitor what impact these changes would have on the childcare sector. The decision from WG on future capital funding opportunities available to better improve facilities for our current providers was also awaited. Consideration to establish a multi-agency task and finish group to address the service provision available within the standstill budget against the increased needs in developmental delay in children supported by Cynllun Cyfeirio. There was a need to refine and review their Action Plan for Year 3 (following consultation with partner agencies) to ensure that our work aligns with new policies, practice and budgetary requirements. Following submission of the Progress report to WG by June deadline, additional projects had come to their attention that would need to be included in our amended action plan. These include the impact on childcare due to the proposed upcoming school reorganisation plans and implementing Op-Encompass on behalf of Dyfed-Powys Police within childcare and the Early Years
Consideration was given to the Oversight of in year Financial matters. The Corporate Lead Officer, Finance and Procurement stated as Members were aware the 24/25 Budget setting process was a challenging one which included c 70 Budget Reduction proposals being approved totalling c£5.8m. Progress in delivering these Budget Reduction were reviewed and monitored by Leadership Group at the end of every month. During the year, it was intended to provide individual Overview & Scrutiny Committees with the following information: • The latest quarterly financial position as reported to Cabinet (to include the latest BRAG status position on the 24/25 Budget Reductions) • This would include both Revenue and Capital Financial Monitoring reports. This information would enable the Committee to scrutinise the financial matters pertinent to the areas of Service falling within its remit. At any point during the year, the Committee may choose to explore any area of the Budget within its remit via the Forward Work programme. Reference was made to the teachers’ payaward offer of 5.5%, which was currently out to consultation and whether the funding for this would be forthcoming from the Welsh Government. It was noted that a 1% increase in teachers’ pay equates to £450k. Following questions from the floor, it was agreed to note the report for information.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
AGREED to note the current position and the consultation process.
The Cabinet Member for Schools, Lifelong Learning and Skills, Councillor Wyn Thomas presented the report for information to the Committee. Following a detailed explanation by Officers on the procedure of the consultation process and the need to inform the public who had originally submitted their comments on these four proposals to resubmit them to a corporate email that would be provided in due course. This was to ensure that all comments previously sent to various Councillors and Officers were collated from one source. Members were urged to circulate this message on the need to resubmit comments to interested parties, it was also agreed that this message would be posted on the Council’s social media channels. It was reported that the consultation period would commence mid-October for 42 days (to include a period of 20 days when the schools were open); with the exception of Ysgol Llanfihangel y Creuddyn, which would commence in November, following a 28 day consultation period with the church. It was noted that the consultation would include the most up to date data, following the new term. Updated figures were presented to the Committee as follows: • Ysgol Craig yr Wylfa – 24 pupils with 5 applications for admission during the year (4 year olds); • Ysgol Llanfihangel y Creuddyn – 16 pupils with 1 application for admission during the year (4 year old); • Ysgol Llangwyryfon – 25 pupils with 1 application for admission during the year (4 year old); • Ysgol Syr John Rhys – 18 pupils with 1 application for admission during the year (4 year old). An explanation was sought regarding the justification that Ysgol Rhos Helyg and Ysgol Talgarreg were withdrawn prior to Cabinet on 3rd September 2024. It was noted that a letter had been sent to both schools from the Cabinet Member and a request was made that these reasons were shared with the four schools where the statutory consultation process to cease to maintain the provision will commence shortly. Reference was made to the timetable and the impact on staff, pupils and their families of the final decision being made late in the school year. It was noted that the Council must follow the requirements of the School Organisation Code. Once the consultation period had ended a further report would be presented to the Committee in February 2025 to consider the responses received, prior to presenting to Cabinet. This would then be the Committee’s opportunity to scrutinise further the responses and proposals; and present recommendations accordingly to Cabinet. A copy of the timetable for the consultation/meetings would also be circulated to Members once completed. It was AGREED to note the current position and the consultation process.
It was AGREED to confirm as a true record the Minutes of the previous meeting of the committee. Matters Arising None.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
AGREED to note the content of the Forward Work Programme subject to the following amendments:- • An additional meeting to be in held in February 2025 to consider the responses received from the consultation upon the proposal papers in relation to Ysgol Craig yr Wylfa, Ysgol Llanfihangel y Creuddyn, Ysgol Llangwyryfon and Ysgol Syr John Rhys. The paper to also include information on the reason(s) that the two schools who were also earmarked originally to commence the consultation process had been withdrawn prior to the Cabinet meeting held on the 03 September 2024. • A presentation on capacity and empty spaces in schools • An invitation be sent to the Chief Executive of Mudiad Meithrin requesting her to attend a future meeting to provide Members with information on the organisation and any current or future challenges they encounter • That new Lockdown Policy for Schools be presented at the October/November meeting for consideration.
It was AGREED to note the content of the Forward Work Programme subject to the following amendments:- • An additional meeting to be in held in February 2025 to consider the responses received from the consultation upon the proposal papers in relation to Ysgol Craig yr Wylfa, Ysgol Llanfihangel y Creuddyn, Ysgol Llangwyryfon and Ysgol Syr John Rhys. The paper to also include information on the reason(s) that the two schools who were also earmarked originally to commence the consultation process had been withdrawn prior to the Cabinet meeting held on the 03 September 2024. • A presentation on capacity and empty spaces in schools • An invitation be sent to the Chief Executive of Mudiad Meithrin requesting her to attend a future meeting to provide Members with information on the organisation and any current or future challenges they encounter • That new Lockdown Policy for Schools be presented at the October/November meeting for consideration.
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